Milwaukee's hockey team in national spotlight

Admirals appear in Sports Illustrated

UPDATED 7:27 PM CST Dec 03, 2012

MILWAUKEE -

Milwaukee's minor league hockey team is getting national attention.

The Milwaukee Admirals appear in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated. The action shot was taken during a game last month against Chicago. The caption talks about hockey still being played despite a lockout in the National Hockey League.

WISN 12 News' Patrick Paolantonio got the reactions from some of the players about when they saw the photo.

"It was definitely a cool picture. It was one of the freeze cam ones. So everyone's got kind of a funny face on and what not, but it was nice for our team to get in there," Admirals defenseman Ryan Ellis said.

"It's pretty cool. It's a good picture. I actually saw it up on the big screen in Chicago and I was like, 'Well, that's a good picture.' And then lo and behold, like a week later, it comes out," Admirals goalie Jeremy Smith said.

"I guess it's pretty cool. I wasn't doing much, just kind of hanging out, just standing there in the slot, but I guess it's pretty neat. I think it's something that's a little cooler for mom and dad maybe. The folks are pretty excited about it," Admirals center Mark Van Guilder said.

The team said the Admirals have been mentioned in the magazine before, and former Admirals players have been in there, but to its knowledge, this is the first time there's been a photo of the Milwaukee Admirals in Sports Illustrated.

The Admirals president said he had no idea about the photo until a season ticket holder sent him a message on Facebook asking if he saw Sports Illustrated.

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